Cerulean raced across the Cosmodrone toward the Forgotten Shore, where they were told a secret entrance to Rasputin's bunker should be. Their Sparrows flew over the dirt paths and sparse vegetation. Wren hadn't gotten used to her new Sparrow yet. It was faster than the last and the turns felt oddly weighted toward the back so if she took one too fast, the tail would sling around and make her feel like she was about to lose control.

"Some Sparrows are just like that," Beorn said, giving her a thumbs up. "You're doing great. Just mind the tight curves and don't get too close to the outside. There you go, keep it tight to the inside."

"We must protect Rasputin," Eris said over comms and Wren nearly jumped out of her skin. "If the Hive control the last Warmind, I fear we will not be able to stop them."

"We'll do what we can to find and secure the Warmind," Rorick assured.

Frankly Wren was getting tired of hearing it. They'd already discussed the plan and why it was important to find the bunker and keep the Hive at bay. Eris' repeating its importance only got under Wren's skin. It was good for everyone that Rorick was so patient because the other members of Cerulean might have cut her off by now.

"Contact me as soon as you make it to the Shore," Eris said, and the comms went dead.

"That is getting repetitive," Franz said.

"I know, but you must understand," Rorick said. "She's only trying to help and her concerns are founded."

"I think being in the Moon for so long's messed with her head."

"It would anyone's," Sisre said. "Years trapped in those tunnels? We were only trapped there for a few hours and I felt a bit loopy when we finally got out. I can't imagine spending so long down there in the darkness."

Wren didn't want to think about it. She'd be cagey too if she'd spent so long avoiding the Hive. She didn't much like the dark anyway. Skulking around in the shadows like Eris had done? Sounded like a nightmare.

They rounded the bend from the narrow passage leading to the Shore and Rorick called in that they had arrived. The location he'd been given was on the far side of the Shore, on a rise that overlooked the wreckage of ships left behind when the water receded.

"You will find the entrance under the building," Eris said. "Descend the stairs and tell me what you see."

They dismounted and went inside, weapons drawn. Rorick signaled for Flak, Beorn, and Franz to stay at the top of the steps on guard while Wren, Sisre, and himself went into the lower level.

Strange music played from somewhere below and the flickering lights hurt Wren's eyes. She blinked and turned her head away slightly as she followed Rorick down. They wound their way deeper into the earth in corridors of rusted metal that threatened to collapse in on them at any moment. The music became louder as they did until at last the sad tune was at its loudest, right in front of a black diamond shaped door with the same symbols she'd seen around the Cosmodrone.

"That music," Eris said. "Rasputin is in trouble. You must find a way to help him."

Brix hovered above the control panel but nothing happened.

"How do we get inside?" Rorick asked but before Eris could reply, the door released a hiss of steam and opened wide for them. "Never mind."

"I've never known Rasputin to welcome visitors," Eris said. "Find a way to the control room."

Rorick called to the other half of Cerulean and waited for them to descend before taking point to enter the bunker.

Inside was clean, the surfaces untouched by rust. The bunker itself was larger than Wren had expected with the same diamond shaped doors they had encountered above and seemingly endless catwalks and hallways. They turned a corner into a large triangle shaped corridor to see Hive standing guard in front of stairs leading off to the left.

"Woah," Rorick said, holding up a hand to stop his team.

"What is it?" Eris asked.

"The Hive found a way in here."

"Don't let them get to Rasputin!" Eris' voice became strained, panicked.

"It's just a few smaller ones. We can handle this."

The six of them pushed through the Thrall and Acolytes, taking only minimal damage from the Knight until they stood at the base of the stairs the Hive were guarding.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say what we're looking for is up there," Franz said.

A wave of Thrall screamed down the second flight of stairs and Rorick tossed a grenade toward the mass of them, Wren finishing off the last few with the Better Devils. A Hallowed Knight at the top of the stairs took three sniper rounds to the chest and head before throwing up a shield.

"Grenades," Rorick shouted. "If you have tracking grenades throw them behind the shield."

They obeyed and the Knight burst to flame and ash, the shield of Darkness remaining for a few seconds after its wielder died. The room it had been standing in had two doors on either side, several crates scattered about, and a massive pane of thick glass overlooking the room beyond where some sort of terminal stood. Wires draped around in thick coils like vines from the mangrove trees.

Cerulean prepared themselves for whatever lay past the doors, which opened before they reached them. Rasputin was only welcoming them in order to free himself of the Hive that had managed to sneak in.

"Find the controls and make sure the Hive haven't destroyed Rasputin," Eris said. "There is a monitor system opposite the entrance."

Rorick led the way across the room to a platform facing the glass room. Brix scanned the console as the rest of the team checked the other doors coming in to find them all locked and secure. Wren found a sort of tunnel under the platform where Rorick and Sisre stood and Flak leapt high above the doors to get a better vantage point. So far, they hadn't found any way to breach this room without being let in.

"I don't understand what—" Rorick cut short when music blared through the room. Brix vanished in a flash while Rorick and Sisre ran from the platform as a swirling green and black portal formed above the console.

"Something is wrong!" Eris yelled and Wren could hear Cayde in the background, his tone laced with an edged annoyance, but Wren couldn't make out what he was saying.

Omnigul emerged in a cloud of black smoke, eyes glowing from within. The team fell back toward the door and took positions. Sisre didn't bother with her sniper in the enclosed area. She wielded her scout rifle in the back corner of the room while Flak continued to jump higher into the wiring above. Rorick took position below the platform Sisre was on, motioning Beorn and Franz to go left while Wren should keep right.

"Silence Omnigul's screams!" Eris demanded as Thrall spawned near the Wizard.

Omnigul's cackling laughter screeched over the distressed music from Rasputin. Gunfire, grenades, screaming Thrall, all overlapped into pure chaos. Omnigul teleported behind the glass of the observation room and raised her hand high. All around the room swirling portals opened for Knights and Cursed Thrall. As they swarmed in, Omnigul returned to the console.

Wren took Flak's lead and jumped onto the nearest doorway as a group of Cursed Thrall exploded below. The Knights were attracted to the noise and turned to face her, firing at her and forcing her to drop down behind some crates until Sisre and Rorick could finish them off.

"Watcher!" someone called from across the room and Wren looked toward the center control tower to see a Wizard floating there, surrounded by a shield of Solar energy. Beorn came out from behind some crates and broke the shield. The Watcher of Crota didn't stand a chance against the Guardians but it did allow Omnigul time to open more portals.

"We have to stop Omnigul," Rorick shouted.

Wren ran to get closer to Omnigul, only to find a Watcher in her place. A Cursed Thrall exploded behind Wren, launching her forward under the Watcher's billowing shroud. It screamed and raised a hand, surrounding them both in dense black fog that clouded Wren's vision and weighed her down, though not as much as it had with Sardon. Still, pain wracked her body, causing light to flicker before her eyes. She gritted her teeth and emptied the Better Devils into the Watcher, forcing it to retreat. Chunks of the Wizard broke away with every shot, floating silently into ash.

As soon as the Watcher left the fog, Sisre put it down with a couple of well placed bullets and the fog began to dissipate. Wren rolled to her feet and assessed the situation. More and more of the green portals in the floor had opened and Omnigul was nowhere to be seen. Was she playing with them? Had she led them into the bunker knowing she didn't intend to fight them, but to let them die to her minions?

The metal scraping sound that accompanied the portals caught Wren's attention an instant before Franz and Beorn ran back toward them, fleeing from whatever had come through.

"Oh shit oh shit oh shit!" Franz yelled as a massive Ogre emerged behind them, the bunker floor shaking with every step it took. "Get that damned rocket launcher over here!"

Rorick cursed under his breath and loaded a rocket, leaping out of the way as the Ogre's eye blast showered the spot where he'd been standing with Void energy. The splashed against his armor and sizzled. He shot the rocket into the Ogre's fleshy eye, staggering it.

Flak fell from the masses of wires above in a flurry of blue light, Arc knives cutting into the Ogre. Its hands grasped wildly at the Hunter as he used every second of his super on attacking the Ogre. When he was finished, he jumped away only for the Ogre's meaty hand to make contact with him, sending him tumbling to the floor.

Wren felt Solar heat flood her body and she ran toward where Flak had fallen, the Ogre preparing for another eye blast. She released the energy and the Golden Gun radiated warmth through her hands as she pulled the trigger. The Solar shots tore into the Ogre's flesh, giving Flak enough time to escape.

Rockets exploded off the Ogre's back and Wren ducked for cover. Beorn was yelling from across the room, he and Franz surrounded by Knights. Void blasts whizzed past them from every side and they were struggling with the swarm of Hive. Rorick ran to them, Arc energy sparking around him as he slammed into the group. The Hive he struck crackled with electricity before bursting to ash.

Flak, Wren, and Sisre kept their attention on the Ogre until it too, dissipated.

"Where is Omnigul?" Rorick shouted, but there was only a high-pitched laugh to answer him.

Omnigul appeared for only a moment before she cackled and disappeared.

The lights around the room flickered and came on. Wren shielded her helmet with her hand, the visor unprepared of the sudden brightness.

"Well done," Eris said, and Franz shrugged. "Rasputin is safe but Crota's armies are stronger than I thought. We must act now to stop them from wakening Crota's Soul. You must return to the Moon, enter the Temple, and ensure that Crota is not made whole."

Eris told them the story of how her fireteam attempted to destroy Crota. She spoke of her confidence in them, of their potential. But the Hive had claimed the soul before the Guardians could destroy it and in turn, they were killed. Wren pitied them and wondered if the confidence she had in her own fireteam was as vain as Eris' had been.

She sped alongside them on their Sparrows, across the rocky white landscape of the Moon. Soon she recognized where they were; the old base where she had met Sisre for the first time and where they had camped out before getting stuck in the tunnels under the surface.

"We hid in that base for the right time to strike," Eris explained. "We were brave, but we were not ready."

Sisre glanced back at Wren and gave her a reassuring nod. They dismounted their Sparrows when the canyon became too narrow, a sheer cliff falling into nothing on one side, rock wall on the other. Wren remembered the pass. There were times when only two Guardians could pass side by side and it wasn't a comfortable walk.

They lined up, single file, with Rorick at the head. Sisre followed, Franz after her, Wren between him and Beorn, Flak tagging along behind. Beorn walked close to her, his boots scuffing the back of her own but it was comforting to have him close.

"Few of us made it through the canyon," Eris explained. "The Hive waited in ambush for us. Those who made it inside, had it far worse."

Rorick stopped them as the canyon widened and said in a hushed tone, "Tomb ship."

Wren could hear it ripping through the portal. There was a scuffling of feet and screeching of Thrall and Wizards as they were dropped off. It wasn't until the Tomb ship vanished once more through the exit portal that Rorick instructed them to move.

"Keep long range if you can," he said. "There's a chance the Hive are waiting to surround us. We can't let that happen. Draw them up the slope if you have to but keep your position on the ridge."

They lined up side by side, dropping down to take cover behind rocks. Not everyone had a scout rifle or anything that could handle the range, so they threw grenades down into the waves of Thrall that rushed the slope. Sisre killed the Wizard and they found themselves winding down, deep into the Moon, as they had when they'd gone to find the World's Grave.

A loud, angry roar echoed through the Temple halls.

"I know that sound," Eris said. "You must hurry!"

Franz and Beorn used their supers to clear the path, the rest of the team falling into a jog behind them, killing the few Hive that managed to escape the Void blasts. Farther still they drove through the Hive forces to the World's Grave. From somewhere below a voice chanted, sending shiver down Wren's arms. The whisper elicited a reaction from the other members of Cerulean as well.

"Hey kid," Cayde said, his voice steady. Quiet. Serious.

"Hmm?" she hummed, trying to keep the others from hearing her.

"I'm just patched in to you. You holdin' up okay down there?"

"Yeah."

"You don't have to talk."

"Crota," Eris said. "The ritual has begun!"

Wren could hear her twice, once through her own comm and an echo through Cayde's. He sounded like he'd walked away from the others to speak with her.

"Be careful down there. I'll be here," he said.

"Damned Shrieker," Rorick grumbled as Void energy splashed around the edges of the door. He loaded a rocket and told Sisre to ready her sniper. Everyone else stepped back in anticipation of the Shrieker's death blast.

Wren crouched low at Rorick's hip, setting off chain reactions of Cursed Thrall as they crested the top of the stairs. Sisre unloaded on the Shrieker and the team avoided most of the death blasts by running toward the opposite hallway. The blasts either fizzled out after a time or splashed against stony outcroppings as the Guardians evaded them.

"Is everyone alright?" Rorick asked as they passed into the next room.

"Yeah, I just need a minute," Franz said. He fidgeted with his pulse rifle. "Just got this thing and it keeps jamming."

"That door is open," Beorn said and the rest of Cerulean looked up to where he was pointing. At the top of the landing on the left side of the room, a door which had been closed before stood wide open.

"You doing okay?" Cayde asked.

"I'm alright," Wren breathed.

"I guess that's where we're headed," Rorick said. Franz fixed his gun and gave a thumbs up for the party to continue onward. "Everyone, stay behind the doorframe. Sisre, think you can take out that Shrieker?"

"If I do I won't have many rounds left for whatever else is in store for us."

"That's alright. We need the Shrieker gone."

Sisre moved forward into the hallway and unloaded her sniper into the Shrieker. She ran out of the way, sliding around one of the pillars that made up the doorframe an instant before the blasts charged through, splashing against the opposite wall.

Flak threw a grenade into the mass of Cursed and Hallowed Thrall that followed the blast and the way was clear. They descended the stairs into a ritual space. A round room with a pedestal in the middle. Steps curved up to a platform on the left side of the pedestal, and an open door on the other side of the room seemed the most promising route.

They moved into the hallway on the other side of the door and everything became pitch black. It was as if they had walked through an invisible wall, beyond which only darkness existed. Ghost lights shone brightly in the hallway, illuminating barnacles and piles of bones around Hive made columns. Even the light of the Ghosts could barely cut through the darkness and Wren clutched the Better Devils more tightly.

An inhuman whispering trickled through the corridor, followed by Eris insisting they must find and kill the Watchers. The Darkness here was heavy. There would be no respawning here, Wren was sure of it.

A glowing sigil made of green fire spanned the floor of the doorway. The Guardians leapt over, unsure of what would happen if they were to touch one and not being too keen on finding out. Even as they passed many more of these and the corridor began to widen and lights became brighter, the heaviness never left Wren's shoulders. It was as if two massive hands pushed down on her.

Most bone chilling whispers, and Eris returned.

"They're waking his soul," she said, her voice edged with concern. Wren heard her twice and remembered the Cayde was silent but listening. She inhaled a shaky breath and steadied her hand.

"This place never ends," grumbled Franz as they battled through countless Hive.

It was beginning to feel like being trapped in a nightmare. Enemies fell with easy to them, but there were so many. Countless swarms coming at them from all angles and Wren was getting tired. The Better Devils was becoming heavier in her grasp

"I'm going to need a nap after this," Franz said.

"Aw, is the little Warlock tired?" Flak sneered as he passed Franz.

Rorick put a hand to Franz' chest to keep him from punching Flak but all the Hunter did was smirk.

"Enough," Rorick said. "This is no time to be petty."

"If you're finished," Beorn said, pointing toward the end of the hall, "there's a rather large Ogre guarding the door. Franz and I could hit it with our supers. That should be sufficient to take it down."

"Won't that be a waste of supers?" Sisre asked.

"Supers can recharge. We'll need all the ammo we can get for whatever lies ahead," Rorick said. "Everyone else, stay back from the eye blast. Let us know when the path is clear."

Flak stood behind Wren, looming over her. Rorick and Sisre were preoccupied by peering around a pillar to see if the Warlocks might need assistance.

"Did you see what I was able to get with the Glimmer you gave me?" Flak asked, his voice cool and smooth as he pulled a long dagger from his belt and held it under Wren's chin from behind. "It's quite beautiful isn't it? Not a typical throwing knife to be tossed away. No, this one… this one is made to soak in blood. I wonder when I'll be able to use it?"

"Get away from me, Flak," Wren said through gritted teeth.

"Tsk tsk, so touchy. I just thought you'd like to see my new toy."

"Path's clear," Beorn said over comms and Wren ran out to meet him and Franz, putting distance between herself and Flak.

"Woah, what was that about?" Cayde asked. He'd been so quiet she forgot he was there.

"Forget it. I think you should go."

"But—"

"Please, Cayde," she said, her tone harsher than she intended.

"Yeah. You got it."

"Shh," Franz said. "You gotta see this."

Cerulean eased forward into the doorway the Ogre was guarding. Within was another round room, flooded with a couple of feet of water with a tiny island in the middle. A massive dark crystal erupted from the stone floor. Within a shadowy figure stared at them with three bright eyes. Green flames danced across the rock walls and in brazier's on either side of a bridge to the island. Knights knelt before the crystal, offering up their weapons while Wizards conducted the ritual.

"Kill the Knight," Rorick ordered and Cerulean charged forward, overtaking the Knights on the bridge, followed closely by a hoard for Thrall. The Wizards ignored the Guardian's focusing their efforts on summoning Crota's Soul.

It wasn't until they had fought through to the island that the Wizards paid them any mind, scattering to the edges of the room to take cover in clouds of darkness. Only their eyes and the energy from their palms told where they were lurking.

Cerulean tried to focus on one at a time through the chaos of charging Cursed Thrall exploding around them. When the first Waker fell, the other three screamed and became more aggressive, forcing the Guardians down from the bridge into the water.

Wren struggled to run through the black liquid, unable to see where she was stepping. Water splashed all around as the others fell back, away from the other three Wakers. Wren turned and used her Golden Gun, two of the shots hitting their intended target while the third grazed the Waker's shoulder as Wren slipped on the slick stone under her feet.

She regained her footing before falling into the water, Sisre's sniper rifle finishing off the Waker as it lunched for Wren. It burst into flames, its ashes coating surface of the pool. Sisre left the sniper standing where it was as she ran for the third Waker, her super sparking Arc energy all around her. She jumped to slam a Waker just as the Wizard cast darkness around it. Wren held her breath as the cloud erupted into flashes of blue, bolts of Arc energy zapping around until Sisre dropped to the pool with a splash. She stood and wielded her scout rifle as Thrall swarmed her, the Waker's ashes coating her helmet and chest.

"We got the last one," Franz said, his voice followed by the scraping sound of stone on stone that set Wren's teeth on edge.

The crystal in the center of the island rose from the ground, splinters breaking away from it with the sound of shattering glass.

"Destroy the crystal!" Eris demanded and Rorick loaded a rocket as a bolt of green fire shot from the crystal at him. It tore through a line of Thrall and Knights, the splinters around it rotating faster as it continued to rise.

Cerulean opened fire on the crystal, avoiding the flames by scattering around the room, taking shelter when they were targeted until the crystal's surface began to crack.

"Almost!" Rorick yelled. "Keep pushing!"

Another rocket crashed into the crystal's widest part and it shattered, falling into chunks on the floor. The bright light from within was extinguished, the surface going dark as some pieces fell into the water around the island.

"It is finished," Eris said. "You have exacted my vengeance. I thank you and though they do not know it yet, the City thanks you."

"Well done, Cerulean," Zavala said. "Come home. Rest and collect your reward."

Cayde paced the hanger waiting for Cerulean to arrive home. He'd watched the surface of the Moon for what seemed an eternity, knowing full well he couldn't see them from the Tower. It would take a long time for them to walk back out of the tunnels but with Crota's Souls destroyed, it should be a quiet walk. But as he looked up to the sky, the shadow of the Earth darkening most of the Moon's pitted white face, he wondered if Wren would be walking in that shadow.

When Ikora said the ships were entering Earth's atmosphere, Holliday and Cayde were the first in the hanger to greet them. The rest of the night team had assembled, groggy and grumbling, to pull in the ships before they could get off shift for the night. Or more, the day.

The sun would be rising soon and even Cayde was tired and ready to go to his room to shut down for a few hours. But first, Cerulean.

Wren's ship was the last in line. Rorick and Sisre touched down first, dragging themselves across the catwalk toward Cayde.

"Good work," Cayde praised. "Big Blue says you can report to him after you've gotten some rest."

The Titans gave him a nod and a little wave goodbye. Flak walked past him without a sideways glance but Cayde stared at him the whole way by. He wasn't sure what had happened on the Moon, but he didn't like it. Wren would have to tell him before he could do anything, if there was anything to be done.

Franz waited around for Beorn who was tinkering around with something in his cockpit when Cayde passed. He climbed onto the wing of Wren's ship before it was properly docked.

"Hey kid, I found something I think you'd—"

The cockpit slid open and Cayde saw Wren, asleep. She was completely dead to the world, head leaned to the side, lips parted. He snorted and sat on the edge of the cockpit, fidgeting with something in his hand.

"Never mind," he said quietly, slipping the item into his pocket.

Kiran floated up to him. "She's exhausted."

"No kiddin'."

"What's goin' on?" Holliday asked, joining Cayde on the wing of the starship. "Poor thing's gone and worn herself out," she chuckled. "Guess you better carry her on back to bed."

"Me? Are you kidding?" Cayde shook his head. "No way. If I carry her anywhere and she finds out about it, I'll be drinking my food through a straw. Hey, Beorn."

"Hm?" The Exo stuck his head up from his cockpit.

"Can you take Wren back to her room? I think she's down for the count."

"Of course," Beorn replied, hopping down to the catwalk as Cayde lifted Wren from her ship. She barely stirred in his arms except for tiny incoherent mumblings and a little turn of her head toward his chest.

"Talk about dead weight," Cayde said, handing Wren down to Beorn.

"She'll gain stamina with time," Beorn said.

"She's doin' better than I did," Franz smirked. "Alright, let's get back to the Tower. I'm so tired I could probably sleep through a heard of Cursed Thrall."

Cayde watched as Beorn and Franz took Wren out of the Hanger. Guilt gnawed at the back of his mind. Here he was, safe and sound in the Tower while she was out there fighting gods and wearing herself down to the point of being too tired to walk to her own room.

"Talk about a rising star," Holliday said, taking a seat on the wing beside Cayde. "Think she might take your place someday?"

Cayde laughed. "Well, knowing what my Dare is, I sure as hell hope not. Besides, I wouldn't trap her in this job. I feel into it just right because of Ikora and Zavala, but Pigeon wouldn't handle it well. Too wild at heart."

Holliday smirked and nudged his elbow. "Yeah, right. Well, I'm headed to bed. These ships need some tlc first thing in the morning but I think they'll keep until then. You comin?"

"Yeah. In a minute."

"Suit yourself."

Cayde watched Holliday leave. The last of the crew got the ships docked properly and they were all off to swap shifts. The darkest part of the night settled over the City as Cayde slid from the wing of Wren's ship. There were some dark times ahead of them. He'd have to find a way to make them bearable.